O An ally of Russia’s leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny, Leonid Volkov, said Thursday’s prisoner swap between the West and Russia should have included the activist, who died in February while serving a prison sentence in the Arctic.
“Now we can say: Yes, this is the same exchange in which, as we expected, Alexei Navalny should have been released in February this year,” Leonid Volkov wrote on the social network X (Twitter).
However, he continued, Russian President Vladimir Putin “decided to ‘turn the tables’ and that he would not give up on Navalny for anything.”
“He killed him literally two days before the exchange could take place,” he charged.
Still, the Navalny collaborator, who was attacked with a hammer outside his home in Vilnius, Lithuania, weeks after his ally’s death, noted that “today we rejoice at the release of political prisoners, Putin’s hostages who suffered in Putin’s Gulag.”
“Soon we will be able to hug Lilia Chanysheva and Ksenia Fadeeva, Ilya Yashin and Vadim Ostanin, and many others. This is a correct and honest reason for joy (especially when there are so few of them). But it will still be a joy with tears in our eyes,” he wrote.
He pointed out that “the ‘Navalny exchange’ finally happened, but without Navalny.” “This is very painful,” he added.
Now we can say:
Yes, this is the very same exchange in which, as we hoped, Alexei Navalny was to be released in February of this year.Here is Maria @pevchikh six months ago describes everything that happened today: pic.twitter.com/49u7hKFFGU
— Leonid Volkov (@leonidvolkov) August 1, 2024
“It is indicative: Putin is releasing lively and cool people, whom their families are waiting for, whom their friends are happy to meet. He is left with a murderer and a handful of failed spies who are destined to be forgotten. But how good it is that our friends and colleagues can breathe the air of freedom again!”, he concluded, referring to the ‘range’ of prisoners released to the Russian side.
It should be noted that White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed this Thursday that Navalvy would be included in this prisoner exchange, according to the US press.
The widow of Russian opposition leader Yulia Navalnaya has also reacted to the prisoner exchange, saying it is “a joy to see them all out of captivity” and “safe from the regime” of the Russian president.
Navalnaya noted, however, that the fight continues.
“We still have to fight: Daniel Kholodny, Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser, Igor Sergunin. We will do everything in our power to secure their release. Freedom for all political prisoners!” he said on the social network X (Twitter).
It is recalled that Navalnaya, who promised to continue her husband’s cause from exile abroad, accused Putin of being responsible for Navalny’s death, having stated that the head of state’s power is based on “disinformation, lies, deception and provocations”.
Navalny died suddenly on February 16, a month before the March 17 presidential election in which Putin was the favored candidate, after taking a walk at the IK-3 prison in the Arctic city of Jarp, according to prison authorities.
This Thursday, 26 people from prisons in seven different countries were released, according to the Turkish presidency, which admitted to having coordinated the operation.
Read Also: Navalny’s widow added to Russia’s “terrorists and extremists” list
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2608772/a-troca-de-navalny-finalmente-aconteceu-mas-sem-navalny-e-doloroso
